In 2020 Prog asked for readers’ views on the best Marillion songs from the neo-proggers’ extensive career. Included in that year’s 148-page Marillion: Prog Special, thousands of people cast their votes. The top 20 tracks were split across 10 albums, with five each from their Fish and Steve Hogarth eras.
Four of those songs came from Marbles; three each from Fugazi and Seasons End; and two each from Script For A Jester’s Tear, Misplaced Childhood and Clutching At Straws. There was even a high placing for a song that Marillion themselves would probably rather forget.
20. Assassing (Fugazi, 1984)
Fish’s wordy wordplay might be too clever for its own good (apparently it was inspired by the firing of original drummer Mick Pointer), but there’s no arguing with the viciousness of Fugazi’s opening track. ‘What do you call assassins who accuse assassins anyway?’ Who knows?
19. Incubus (Fugazi 1984)
One of Fish’s favourite tracks, Incubus is a voyeuristic story of misplaced, bedroom Polaroid photographs. At times borderline seedy, the intensity of the narrative is equalled by the inspired musical backdrop. Whether the explosive introduction, the almost funereal middle section or euphoric conclusion, it’s a highlight from an often-overlooked album.
18. The Space (Seasons End, 1989)
Partly recycled from an unreleased song by Steve Hogarth’s old band How We Live titled Wrapped In The Flag and inspired by a tram accident the singer witnessed in Amsterdam, The Space finds Hogarth musing on the damage he’d caused and had been caused throughout his life. The ‘everybody in the whole of the world’ coda ends both the song and their first album together on a suitable billowing note.
17. Lavender (Misplaced Childhood, 1985)
The old folk song Lavender’s Blue gets reimagined as a grown-up love song, replacing the heartbreak and yearning of Kayleigh with innocence and hope. A gentle melody gives way to a chorus that crashes in like a tidal wave, proving that Marillion could go for the heart as well as the head.
16. Seasons End (Seasons End, 1989)
Marillion had never sounded so Floydian than on the title track to Steve Hogarth’s debut album with them, though the lyrics were something else: eight minutes of apocalyptic beauty that envision an Earth ruined by climate change – long before that became a hot-button topic. Sad to say it’s more relevant today than ever.
15. Fantastic Place (Marbles 2004)
Surprisingly, members of the band were unconvinced that this tender song deserved a place on Marbles until they were persuaded otherwise by their producer. The most blatant song about escapism on the album, it’s spiritually uplifting both musically and lyrically, sending out the message that no matter what the surroundings, escape is always enticingly feasible.
14. Warm Wet Circles (Clutching At Straws, 1987)
Near cinematic vignettes of life, love and loss in small-town Britain, all bathed in the romantic optics and lifted to the sky by Steve Rothery, whose guitar seems to circle ever higher. Mark Kelly, for one, complained that the title ruined the chances of major chart success, but it remains a highlight of the Fish years.
13. Afraid Of Sunlight (Afraid Of Sunlight, 1995)
The title track of Marillion’s last major-label outing finds Hogarth turning his incisive gaze on the price of fame. In addition to a standout performance from the vocalist, as the track builds to a crescendo Rothery lets loose with a guitar solo that matches the frontman’s impassioned delivery.
12. Forgotten Sons (Script For A Jester’s Tear, 1983)
Anyone doubting Marillion’s political edge need only listen to the track that closes Script For A Jester’s Tear. Switching between armoured car-like power and ghostly ambience, this decried the senseless violence and hopeless loss that defined The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
11. Fugazi (Fugazi, 1984)
Named after slang used by US troops in Vietnam for “all fucked up,” their second album’s title track was a great leap forward from their debut. Shifting pace and direction throughout, it captures Fish in full poet-warrior mode, laying bare the tensions of modern life in intricate style.
10. Ocean Cloud (Marbles, 2004)
Marillion have consistently been able to produce cinematic, enthralling music – something that was exemplified on Ocean Cloud. Another sumptuous song from the potent Marbles album, it was inspired by the feats of endurance achieved by yachtsman Tony Bullimore and Atlantic rower Don Allen.
It extended the album’s lyrical undercurrent of escapism and a desire to prove society wrong. It also references Hogarth’s real-life run in with a games teacher who publicly dismissed him as a “cream puff,” and his desire the prove the accuser to have been in error.
Enhanced by the use of news reports and some of Allen’s diary entries, the song is incredibly moving – especially given the rower died months after his achievement due to the injuries he’d sustained.
Musically, the track is simply immense. Lilting keyboards accompany calmer elements of the tale, with a chaotic, clattering backdrop providing a dramatic focus for the more perilous moments of their nautical journeys.
9. Sugar Mice (Clutching At Straws, 1987)
Inspired by the ‘hotel in Milwaukee in the rain’ mentioned in the lyrics, right down the phone call Fish made to his then-wife, the gentle Sugar Mice drills down into exactly the same kind of existential loneliness and sense of impermanence which was beautifully captured in the movie Lost In Translation around a decade and a half later.
8. Easter (Seasons End, 1989)
When Hogarth became Marillion’s vocalist in 1988, opinion among the fanbase seemed equally divided between those who instantly warmed to him and those who simply couldn’t accept that Fish was no longer at the helm. The key to winning over the doubters came with songs like Easter, an emotionally overpowering look at civil war that boasts a melody so incisive and stirring that many Fish-ites found it impossible to resist.
7. Grendel (Market Square Heroes EP, 1982)
You can hear the groans of the band themselves that this song placed so high. The grandstanding 17-minute track that squatted like a swamp beast on the B-side of 1982’s Market Square Heroes EP is a callow attempt to write an instant epic that’s bold, ambitious and – if you’re a member of the band – plain embarrassing.
Fish borrowed heavily from John Gardner’s novel Grendel, though not as heavily as the song itself borrowed from Genesis’ Supper’s Ready – one fragment is a ringer for the latter’s Apocalypse In 9/8 section. But for all that, its puppyish enthusiasm and bulletproof chutzpah is impossible not to love.
6. The Great Escape (Brave, 1994)
Brave didn’t make for easy listening. Recanting the life of a would-be suicide victim found wandering on the Severn Bridge, the album investigated a gloomy world of abuse and drug addiction. The accompanying film of the same name only amplified the mental images into something starkly tangible.
The Great Escape delivers a narrative of the girl’s inner turmoil as she heads toward the bridge and an uncertain future. Despite such bleakness, the song is archetypal Marillion, replete with chiming keyboards, perfectly-weighted bass and drums, and another one of Rothery’s career-defining guitar solos.
Vocally, Hogarth manages to capture the mental torment of the main character, delivering her lines with an empathy and vitality that few singers can achieve. Aside from being an album highlight, live performances are embellished with an unnerving edginess, before the album’s final track Made Again provides some much-needed optimism.
5. The Invisible Man (Marbles, 2004)
Unquestionably one of the band’s finest tracks, The Invisible Man is another high point on one of their most alluring albums of the last 25 years. Extending to almost 15 minutes, Marillion manage to achieve a seamless consistency between the numerous key and melody changes, without it sounding like a hastily stapled together blueprint.
Identifiable as Marillion, but with fresh flourishes – the opening segment even triggers memories of Portishead – the music has a pure poignancy which is a fitting match for Hogarth’s heartfelt vocals.
Referencing the singer’s sensation that, as a middle-aged man, he was becoming dislocated from modern culture and that the world had not changed for the better, it’s a wise observation on that ongoing, generational disconnect. Performed live, the notion is given a striking visual support with Hogarth hobbling on stage supported by a walking cane, with the band giving the music an urgency and flair that has made this a beloved concert favourite.
4. Script For A Jester’s Tear (Script For A Jester’s Tear, 1983)
The title track of the band’s debut album introduced the now-familiar figure of the Jester, who would – in some form or another – appear visually or lyrically on all their Fish-era releases. Ascending through moments of mellow brooding, through to the exuberant finale, it’s a lavish track with another inspired Rothery solo. The lyrics hint at passionate, lonely bedsit poetry, and would find accord with many of prog rock’s more cerebrally-minded listeners.
3. Kayleigh (Misplaced Childhood, 1985)
The song that changed everything for the band, Kayleigh was written about Fish’s ex-girlfriend and soon became the sound of the summer in 1985. The perfect pop song, with heartfelt lyrics, catchy chorus and idiosyncratic guitar work, it peaked at number 2 in the singles chart and led to an appearance on evening chat show Wogan and on Top Of The Pops – unthinkable even two years before.
It may be the millstone around the band’s neck – to this day, the gold disc award hangs on the toilet wall in their studio – but it made them household names.
2. This Strange Engine (This Strange Engine, 1997)
Recorded during the band’s indie label phase, the album was a slightly awkward stylistic mix that, although engaging, lacked direction and sounded rather incomplete. However, the 15-minute title track remains one of their most captivating works. Marillion always deliver when there’s a distinct lyrical concept to wrap their musical elegance around – and, crucially, where there is the space and time to perfect it.
Here, Hogarth endearingly recounts an autobiographical story of his childhood, wistfully recalling nautical tales told to him by his sailor father, heavy with acknowledgement of the familial sacrifices such a nomadic existence entailed.
The band created an inventive and empathetic accompaniment for each lyrical segment. Opening softly, the interplay between guitar and keyboards subtly develop the melodies before hitting a wonderful crescendo. Hogarth’s traumatic childhood attack by a swarm of bees even leads into an unexpected and lovingly-executed saxophone section.
The solos performed by Rothery and Kelly are some of their most recognisable; and, for many, haven’t been surpassed. It’s also become a much-adored live centrepiece, with Hogarth playing his cricket bat converted keyboard, adding entertainment to the drama. It’s rare for a 15-minute track to be so enthralling.
1. Neverland (Marbles, 2004)
Opening with mournful keyboard parts, Neverland gradually develops into a classic Marillion track. It’s expansive, soulful and endearing, with no unbecoming musical diversions of which the band had occasionally been guilty during the late 90s and early 2000s.
The 12 minutes are a showcase for the core Marillion traits. It’s the wisely constructed sound of a band in perfect balance, warmly encompassing their legacy, and adding 21st century contemporary polish. Indeed, the track is one of the peaks on an album that re-embraced the grandeur of their past.
But the gorgeous milieu only represent part of the song’s appeal. Hogarth’s emotional voice and hugely personal lyrics adorn the tenderness of the music. Divided into two distinct segments, the first deals with the uplifting power of love, while he struggles to accept and handle his personal flaws. As often is the case on this powerful album, the lyrics then delve into the desire to escape.
Inspired by JM Barrie’s Peter Pan – although well disguised – the references to Wendy, the ticick crocodile and Captain Hook add a surreal element. It’s an impeccable blend of what’s always made Marillion great: unabashed progressive rock, coupled with cerebral lyrics that encourage thought and emotional commitment.
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